B.Bayar

The Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement has remained one of Mongolia's most debated economic issues since it was signed in 2009. While discussions over the past 17 years have largely focused on the debt linked to Mongolia's 34 percent stake in the project, questions about the country's long-term benefits and returns continue to dominate public debate.
Critics argue that many provisions of the Investment Agreement and the Shareholders' Agreement were drafted largely in favor of the foreign investor, leaving Mongolia with limited economic advantages. One of the main concerns is that the country currently collects royalties and exercises regulatory oversight only on copper, gold and silver produced from the Oyu Tolgoi concentrate, while other associated minerals are not subject to the same arrangements.

Under several provisions of the Investment Agreement, the investor is granted the right to explore, extract, process and produce products from any minerals found within the licensed area. Critics say this extends beyond the project's original objective of developing copper and its associated minerals. They also note that the agreement effectively allows the exploitation of mineral resources for an initial 30-year period, with two possible 20-year extensions.

Another issue concerns molybdenum. Existing project documents specify royalty payments for copper, gold and silver but do not explicitly include molybdenum or other metallic minerals contained in the ore. Legal and policy experts argue that there is no clear justification for exempting such resources from royalty payments throughout the life of the project.
For years, Mongolian stakeholders have called for amendments to the agreement. One proposal would require any future extraction or processing of minerals other than those specifically covered in the current agreement to be governed by separate negotiations rather than automatically falling under the existing investment terms. Another proposal seeks to include molybdenum in the project's royalty framework and establish a mechanism for jointly determining how royalties should apply to other metallic minerals in the future.
The debate over the Oyu Tolgoi agreement has regained momentum as Mongolia continues to review whether the country's strategic mineral projects are delivering a fair share of economic benefits while maintaining an attractive environment for foreign investment.

Source: Zuuniimedee № 141 (7883) July 31, 2026

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